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Since the Adapted Frontlighting System (AFS) was commercialized in 2003, it has helped improve visibility on curves. This paper reports that: The driver’s eye-fixation points change for different areas on a curve. This was found by observing the driver’s gaze behavior in horizontal directions and the road geometry of curves; and There is a correlation between the gaze behavior in horizontal directions and the headlamp lighting, AFS lighting in particular. This correlation was used to evaluate the AFS lighting performance.

In this paper three evaluating parameters for cam lubrication characteristics in I.C. engine are introduced, namely the lubrication characteristic number Ns, the hydrodynamic characteristic number Nγ, and the non-dimensional lubrication characteristic number N̄s. The relations among them are deduced. From viewpoint of lubrication some basic points for the design of the cam profile are presented. The requirement for the condition Ns =0 is also proposed, i.e. (dNs /dϕ)Ns =0 ≥3mm/°. These evaluating parameters for cam lubrication characteristics of several current I.C. engines are computed, and finally some conclusions are drawn.

Sharing mobility has led to a reduction of car ownership with consequent decrease in impacts from a multiple economic, social and environmental perspective. One way of promoting sustainable mobility is to establish the use of electric vehicles (EVs), but insufficient knowledge and high uncertainty towards EV technology can represent a barrier to the acceptance of these new forms of mobility. Under-thirty are recognized as a prospective customer group for car sharing services, very receptive to technological innovation. Based on this premise, the study proposed a double-structured methodological framework to investigate university student user profile defining the heterogeneous preferences regarding a mix of attributes of the service design and to assess the impact of car-sharing experience on acceptance of EVs.

Public concern with city bus diesel emissions is worldwide. The operation of public transport in center city areas generates considerable localized pollution. This paper discusses the application of catalytic particulate control to various types of buses and gives details of the performance achieved in widely differing operating environments. On-road, in-service evaluations are reported and details given on the developments to arrive at the socially acceptable or “Friendly” bus.

This paper describes autoregulation in 14 severe closed head injury patients. It was found to be present in eight of the patients. On the basis of these tests, the authors conclude that the presence or absence of cerebral autoregulation may be of prognostic value, the absence indicating a functional loss of cerebrovascular activity. Their findings also indicate that loss of autoregulation combined with an elevated ICP will probably lead to death. THERE IS A CONTROVERSY on whether cerebral autoregulation is present in head injury patients. We have observed that autoregulation is present immediately following severe head injury in unanesthetized baboons. Many authors believe autoregulation is lost in experimental head injury. It may be that autoregulation is lost during the posttraumatic course with deterioration of cerebral conditions.

This paper presents a discussion of the difficulties in evaluating the discharge coefficients of ports in the cylinder wall of high performance two-stroke engines. Traditionally such evaluation requires the knowledge of the area of the port on a chord normal to the direction of flow through the port. However, due to the complex shape of ports in these engines, it is difficult to know the exact flow direction without some kind of flow analysis. Results of a study conducted on various methods of obtaining the port area either by assuming a flow direction or using geometrical information are presented. From the information presented it can be seen that the use of wall area is quite acceptable to determine discharge coefficients. This wall area requires no interpretation by the experimenter and therefore also permits a direct comparison with other ports.

A new method is presented that was used in the setting of engine operational criteria for ASTM1 engine lubricant tests. The method used steady-state engine operational data obtained through matrix testing and the application of the statistical measure Quality Index (QI) to this data. The use of Quality Index provides for one number to describe both an offset from target and a process's precision. The goal of the Quality Index system is to be able to separate well controlled tests from poorly controlled tests. Quality Index evaluation is applied to engine control parameters such as engine speed, oil temperature and various controlled pressures during test operation. The use of Quality Index allows for a uniform characterization of performance of unrelated and uniquely different controlled parameters. The method presented can be used in deriving steady-state as well as multi-stage controlled performance criteria for engine operation.

It has always been difficult to predict time related component failures unless one uses first-hand experience. For time intervals approaching 5 to 10 years, the only practical prediction process uses accelerated aging methods. However, the frequent consequences of such methods distort results so that they do not duplicate the test of time. Recent mandates by the American automotive industry are demanding longevity performance without historical evidence in applications such as engine valve cover and oil pan gaskets. It is the subject of this paper to discuss the available aging methods, their predictive value and current pertinent data on materials and systems that are either used or evaluated in new sealing design.

In the current work, a heat release model, based on the First Law of the Thermodynamics, has been implemented using a genetic approach. Using this approach, the evaluation procedure of the calibration's constants becomes automatic and accurate. The more accurate is the evaluation of the calibration's constants, the more precise will be the calculation of the heat exchange between charge and cylinder walls, the evaluation of the gross heat release inside internal combustion engines, the evaluation of the rate of heat release, the mass fraction burned, as well as the combustion efficiency.

The use of digital human models (DHM) to perform geometric evaluations of hand clearances and reach zones has become common practice at Ford Motor Company. Moreover, DHMs have also been used for performing strength evaluations to ensure ergonomically acceptable jobs. A process called Hose Connections Acceptability Ratings (HCAR) was developed to establish insertion force targets in the early phases of product design. Once targets are set, design and release engineers provide design intent data to achieve sign off from manufacturing engineering. The process is complete when the hose efforts are confirmed at physical part validation build events.

Approximately 500 million oil filters are sold in the United States of America each year, and are not required by law to meet any Government or industry testing procedures prior to being sold in the US market. The lack of required testing has resulted in no uniform testing procedure which in many cases leads to misleading claims by the manufacturer and/or inferior filtration designs and construction materials. Due to the lack of mandatory testing, the majority of oil filter manufacturers use in-house labs with different filtering methods to highlight the filter's unique strengths while not disclosing all relevant filtering data and in turn the filters inherent weaknesses. Instead of manufacturers offering full disclosure of the relevant performance specifications and internal design characteristics of the oil filter, they state that the specifications are proprietary information.

This paper proposes the treatment of vehicle concept evaluation on the basis of a systems analysis approach. The author suggests that vehicle parameters be divided into predictable and statistical characteristics. These include transportability, aerial transportability, weight, dimensions, pay-load, range, highway and off-road performance in the former category and initial cost, producibility, reliability, maintainability, and effectiveness in the latter. Descriptions of each characteristic are presented.

The Thermogravimetry SOF measurement method is developed as simple and time-saving method. It is experimentally revealed that this method is useful for SOF measurement and the method has potential to distinguish SOF component. The oxidation catalysts can effectively reduce particulate matter under actual driving conditions. Sulfate formation suppressing oxidation catalyst reduces high molecular number paraffins. However, it is important for further development of oxidation catalyst to improve the oxidation ability of polar hydrocarbons included in SOF. The oxidation catalysts can effectively reduce CO, HC emissions under actual driving conditions. This is caused by the temperature rise of oxidation catalysts during accelerations.

A combination of various different fuel additive qualities and lubricant qualities were evaluated in a Mitsubishi direct injection gasoline engined vehicle over a standardized road test route using a controlled driving regime. The evaluation was conducted using a matrix of a single base fuel combined with two inlet system detergent additives; one prepared using a synthetic fluidiser base and one a mineral oil fluidiser base. In addition a mineral and a synthetic based crank case lubricant were evaluated with clear base fuel only. Engine inlet and exhaust valve deposits and combustion chamber deposits were measured along with regulated emissions, fuel economy and injector fouling. Methods of measuring and evaluating deposit build up in the inlet and exhaust system and combustion chamber were constructed by developing existing Coordinating European Council (CEC) test methods and in house derived test methods and protocols.

The current practice of evaluating heavy phosphate coatings by determining the resistance of the oiled coatings to the Salt Spray test is questioned. Comparisons of various coatings exposed to Salt Spray and out-of-doors with no oil finish, and with several oils; are shown. Based on the lack of correlation shown in these tests, it is recommended that more attention be paid to the actual performance of these coatings in use, and the correlation of these data with various tests.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has evaluated and reported on the effectiveness of fuel economy retrofit devices for many years. Originally, such products were marketed as emission improvers but with pressures of the oil embargo in the early 1970's most devices began to be promoted to benefit fuel economy. For the most part, such devices are not effective and do not measure up to the claims made by their advertisers. Of over ninety devices evaluated by EPA, only five have improved fuel economy without increasing emission levels. Four other devices modestly improved fuel economy but caused emissions to increase to the point that installation of the devices were determined by EPA to be tampering under the provisions of the Clean Air Act. In general, even those few devices that improved fuel economy were not cost effective.

This study addresses the subjective assessment by the objective measures in order to develop the objective evaluation method of a vehicle seating comfort. Seventy-two male subjects subjectively evaluate six seats (driver seats in popular automotive in Korea) after a short-term seating session (non driving: the evaluation of seat characteristics) and after two-hour driving (two hour driving: the evaluation of body discomfort). The body pressure distribution, objective data for six seats, is investigated and compared with the subjective evaluation. The pattern of the pressure distribution is found and the pressure distribution is approximately correlate with the difference between comfortable and uncomfortable seats.

Objective and subjective evaluations of additive structural modifications for a single automobile were used to determine the effects on structural feel and ride pleasability. The objective evaluations utilized modal analysis and frequency response function (FRF) measurements. FRF measurements were made on a 4-Post road simulator. Subjective evaluations were made by riding in the vehicle during 4-Post road simulator testing with pure roll, pitch, and twist inputs. The vehicle underwent six levels of additive structural modifications. Modal analysis, FRF measurements on the simulator, and simulator subjective evaluations were done for the baseline case, and were repeated following each modification. The modal analysis results indicated changes in the natural frequencies and mode shapes. The 4-Post road simulator results indicated objectively, with subjective correlation, whether, and by how much, the modifications improved the structural feel and ride pleasability of the automobile.

The article suggests the results of experimental and theoretical studies of the engine heating system with a phase-transitional thermal accumulator when the vehicle is in motion in a driving cycle. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficiency of the vehicle heating system within thermal accumulator and catalytic converter under operating conditions. The peculiarity of the presented system is that it uses thermal energy of exhaust gases to accumulate energy during engine operation. The article describes the methodology to evaluate vehicle fuel consumption and emission in the driving cycle according to the UNECE Regulation № 83-05. The methodology takes into account the environmental parameters, road conditions, the design parameters of the vehicle, the modes of its motion, thermal state of the engine cooling system and the catalytic converter.

Proof-of-concept testing was performed to determine the effectiveness of a computer controlled air pump (CCAP) in reducing the unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emitted from automobile engines. For the initial phase of testing, a prototype CCAP was designed and evaluated on a dynamometer test-stand at the University of Tennessee. This CCAP maintained the engine's exhaust at a stoichiometric air/fuel ratio by utilizing a second oxygen sensor mounted downstream from the catalyst. In this way, the catalyst's conversion efficiency for CO and UHC was always high, even if the engine was running rich. Results of this steady-state testing indicated that the CCAP was able to reduce UHC and CO emissions without a corresponding increase in oxide of nitrogen (NOx) emissions. Additionally, catalyst temperatures did not increase dramatically.